Quote:
Originally Posted by TechniSol
I believe it was mentioned that the manufacturer offered screens to Kobo that may have been originally offered to B&N... Real or apocryphal, I cannot say.
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Apocryphal going by comments from eInk and Kobo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TechniSol
Maybe it was a way to get a good deal on screens and offer a larger reader for sale and get their feet wet. Chances are they just laid the Glo board out again to fit the space, tossed in a larger battery, and rebuilt the UI. All cheap enough to do a limited run and get their feet wet to size things up. The molds for the cases probably cost almost as much as the total software investment which is being used across multiple models.
Personally, I think an 8" or larger screen would have been a better target, but I'm guessing a lot of people like their Auras just fine.
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My suspicion is they were going for the perceived premium market. Offer a slightly larger screen and a higher resolution at a premium price. So far, no one else seems to be interested in offering an equivalent device. B&N's Nook division is still bleeding red ink and Amazon has pretty well stopped manufacturing ereaders using eInk screen going by the reports that they have slashed their orders for eInk screens to levels consistent with refurbishing returned units. Perhaps, we'll see a similar size and resolution device from Amazon using Liquavista displays in the future. Though the comments about the quality and resolution of Liquavista displays may keep them off the market even longer -- the colour is generally described as washed out and the resolution demonstrated so far maxed out at ~160dpi. They are colour and fast enough for video so perhaps an ereader with audio/video capability and better battery life than an equivalent sized LCD tablet.
Regards,
David